Thursday, May 14, 2015

One of Our Fellow Unsinkable Aircraft Carriers

I collect nicknames for Guam. In fact I usually begin every Guam History class by filling a white board with different names the Spanish, the Americans, the Japanese and others have given Guam over the years. One of the most interesting one that few people here remember is "unsinkable aircraft carrier."

Guam is not alone in terms of being given this designation. Other places such as Israel, Diego Garcia, Hawai'i and even Okinawa are all considered to be of similar strategic value to the United States. I have heard many different explanations as to where this term comes from and why it is apt for Guam. Think about it for a moment and come up with your own interpretation.

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Protests Growing in Okinawa Over U.S. Military Presence
Jon Letman
4/03/15
Huffington Post

If you live in Hawaii, you
probably have more exposure to things Okinawan than most Americans.
According to the University of Hawaii Center for Okinawan Studies, an
estimated 45,000-50,000 Hawaii residents,
including Gov. David Ige, have Okinawan roots. Local festivals and
community events provide the chance to experience the culture of this
once independent kingdom formerly known as Ryukyu.

Before it was
annexed by Japan in 1879, Ryukyu played a unique role between its
powerful and almost equally distant neighbors, China and Japan.

Today
Okinawa prefecture includes dozens of inhabited and many more smaller
uninhabited islands, yet in total it occupies only about one-seventh the
area of the Hawaiian Islands. Okinawa island (by far the largest), is
about 20 percent smaller (466 sq. miles) than Kauai but has a population
over 20 times greater (1.4 million).

Add to this dense population U.S. military bases. By official counts (that invariably vary), Okinawa has more than 32 U.S. military bases or installations
and nearly 50 restricted air and marine sites designated for military
training. Japan's poorest and smallest prefecture shoulders 75 percent
of all the U.S. bases in the country. Almost 20 percent of the islands
of Okinawa is held by the U.S. military.

Okinawa, which makes up
less than 1 percent of Japan, is home to around 24,000 U.S. military
personnel -- about half of all those in Japan. That might not sound like
much if you live in Hawaii but remember, those are foreign soldiers
whom Okinawans understandably see as an outside occupiers.
Most people in Okinawa have long been opposed to the high concentration of military bases for many reasons, chief among them: crime (especially rape and sexual assault), robberies, traffic accidents, military crashes, noise, widespread severe environmental contamination,
and a general opposition to being used by Tokyo to bear the burden of
Japan's military pursuits. Many Okinawans, especially older generations,
also resent the role their home is forced to play as a launching point
for U.S. wars.
For anyone who lives in Hawaii and recognizes the
negative environmental impacts of militarism (think Makua and Waikane
valleys, Pohakuloa, Kahoolawe, Red Hill and Ke Awa Lau o Puuloa to name a
few), Okinawan's objections to 70 years of being used as an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" should come as no surprise.

But
most objectionable of all may be the subjugation and long-term
occupation by foreign powers. Ask Okinawans and they will tell you they
are not Japanese, they are Uchinanchu
(the people of Ryukyu). So when Tokyo and Washington agree to more
bases in Okinawa, that's an agreement made by two outside powers who are
using Okinawa for their own purposes.

This month marks 70 years
since the battle of Okinawa in which over 120,000 people -- between a
quarter and one-third of the population at the time, perished in
enormous bloodshed that killed many Japanese and Americans, as well.
Okinawans, especially the older people, know all too well the cost of
war -- particularly when it is someone else's war fought on your land.

Now,
after decades of protests and a sense that they've become second-class
citizens in their own islands, Okinawans are standing firm, brave and
strong, in the face of overwhelming military and police force. The
governments in Tokyo and Washington are largely in agreement about
relocating the long-disputed U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in
the densely populated city of Ginowan to a less crowded area at Cape
Henoko near Nago city in the northeast of the island.

But
opposition to Henoko (and other sites) grows as local citizens, many in
their 70s and 80s, try to disrupt construction of the new base.
Protesters have been buoyed by Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga who was
elected last November promising to oppose Henoko base construction. In
March, Gov. Onaga called for construction work to stop
at Henoko. Onaga's move was quickly countered by Japan's Fisheries
Ministry, sparking what may become a protracted legal battle.

Meanwhile
base protesters continue a 24/7 presence outside the construction site
and in tiny boats on the waters of Oura Bay which they say is gravely
threatened by a new base. One only need look at photos of the 10-45 ton concrete blocks
being placed on the seafloor to appreciate the concern for the area's
biodiverse coral, seagrass and other marine habitats which are
recognized as among the most pristine in the world.

Henoko is not
the only hotspot of anti-base demonstrations in Okinawa, but it is
arguably the hottest. To the north of Henoko is the subtropical Yambaru
forest. This is also the site of U.S. Marine Corps Jungle Warfare
Training Center. The U.S. military plans to expand its helipad landing
sites in the remote area which locals say will bring danger, noise and
militarism to a forest recognized for its biodiversity. Okinawa's Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper reports the U.S. plans to conduct over 2,500 annual flight training exercises for the MV-22 Osprey, bringing the hybrid aircraft well-known for its checkered safety record and exceptional noise levels to Yambaru.

On
April 29 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will become the first Japanese head
of state to address a joint session of Congress. Presumably he will
speak glowingly of the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership and
increased militarism (both Japanese and American) in northeast Asia. But
what Prime Minister Abe should explain to his American audience is how
ignoring the overwhelming will of Okinawan people who reject the
militarization of their islands is consistent with Japan's "peace constitution" and the Democratic ideals both Japan and the U.S. claim to hold so dear. Don't hold your breath.

Instead, watch for a more meaningful exchange when Gov. Onaga visits Hawaii
this July and next October when Gov. Ige reciprocates. The visits come
on the 30th anniversary of establishing the "sister state/prefecture"
relationship between Hawaii and Okinawa.

Meanwhile, as Americans,
and especially as residents of Hawaii, the very least we can do is to
recognize how our military presence impacts Okinawa's people and
environment. If we truly are a nation that respects basic human rights
and Democratic principles, we need to acknowledge that our seven-decade
military occupation is a tremendous burden imposed unjustly and
unendingly on the people of Okinawa.

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Put Guahu / About Me

This blog is dedicated to Chamorro issues, the use and revitalization of the Chamoru language and the decolonization of Guam. This blog also aims to inform people around the world about the history, culture and language and struggles of the Chamorro people, who are the indigenous islanders of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Luta and Pagan in the Mariana Islands. Pues Haggannaihon ha', ya taitai na'ya, ya Si Yu'us Ma'ase para i finatto-mu.

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The Revolution Will Not Be Haolified

THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE HAOLIFIEDTinige’ as Guahu - 2003 (updated 2008)

You will not be able to ignore it che’lu * This time you will not be able to blame it all on Anghet * You will not be able to change channels * And watch Fear Factor, Rev TV of Salamat Po Guam because * The Revolution will not be televised

The revolution will not be televised, nor will it be advertised * It will not be sponsored by the Good Guys at Moylan’s or the better guys at AK. * It will not be something easily explained by radio callers * Whether they be Positively Local, Definitively Settler, or Surprisingly Coconut * It will not be cornered by the Calvos and explained by Sabrina Salas * Matanane * After the story about the incoming B-52’s or 1000’s of Marines careening towards to Guam, and how we * should be economically energized and not terrorized. * Jon Anderson will have no TT anecdotes about it * and Chris Barnett won’t malafunkshun it because the revolution will not be televised

The revolution will not be televised or editorialized * It will not be something canabilized with two inches here two inches there * Dubious headlines everywhere * Lee Weber will not edit it * Joe Murphy will not put it in his pipe and smoke it * Nor dream about it, or tell others the wonders and blunders of it. * There will be no letters to the editor quoting scriptures or denying its constitutionality * And there will be no American flag inserts saying these three colors just don’t run * As the revolution will not be editorialized

The revolution will not be televised or politicized * It will not play the same old gayu games * And promise you that same old talonan things. * The revolution will not wave at you as you drive by on Marine Drive * And seduce you with its hardworking eyes. * It will not be territorial or popular, and not encourage you with maolek blue. * The revolution will not put marang salaman po after its speeches to get more Filipino votes in the next election because the revolution will not be politicized

The revolution will not be televised, not be theorized * It will not be something GCC or UOG friendly. * There will be no books at Bestseller offering to help you lose something in 90 days * Or Rachel Ray helping you cook the revolution of your way. * Ron McNinch will not survey it * and will not poll people about their revolution of choice. * There will be no WASC review report demanding accountability demanding autonomy * And no beachcombing carpetbaggers will proclaim their own terminal authority * Over the histories, the laws, the thinking of those for whom they see nothing but corrupt and corrupting inferiority * The revolution will not be colonized

The revolution will not be televised, not be supersized. * The revolution will not be something you can buy at Ross, or get at blue light cost * It is not just red rice, kelaguan uhang, or popcorn with Tobacco sauce. * It doesn’t come with Coke and it doesn’t fit on a fiesta plate. * The revolution will not make you gof sinexy, cure your jafjaf, or make fragrant your fa’fa’ * The revolution will not force you to be where America’s empire begins * Or where Japan’s golf courses and Gerry Yingling’s credit card debt ends. * You won’t need a credit card, or be charged for the tin foil to cover your balutan * As the revolution will not be economized

The revolution will not be televised, blownback or militarized * There will be no more physical ordnance buried in people’s lands * And no more patrionizing propaganda buried in people’s minds * The revolution will not get you cheaper cases of chicken or increased commissary privileges. * It will not make freedomless flags feel more comfortable in your hands * Or make uniforms fit more snugly around your mind. * The revolution will not deny racism or exploitation * And not create histories about landfalls of destiny * But instead publicize the racism and evils of American hegemony. * The revolution will not be subsidized by construction contracts or the race of Senator Inouye or Congressman Burton * It will not be laid waste to by daisy cut budgets or Medicare spending limits * Instead it will be sustained by deep memories that refuse to die * The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be televised and will not polarize based on blood or color * It will not make your skin lighter * It will not make your skin darker * It will not test your blood the way Hitler or Uncle Sam would of done * It will not hate some and love others based on their time of naturalization * Or incept date of their compacts of free association. * But the revolution will help some find comfort, find strength, find power * In their connections to the land and to each other * Allow some to discover the sovereignty that can be found in solidarity * The revolution will take and remake this consciousness that doesn’t need to be televised * But does need to be revolutionized * The revolution will not be haolified * The revolution will not be haolified